This mobile menu is quite working yet! Your editor’s doing his best. Check out the desktop site for links and our long-overdue site search function.

Every week, The Commons mails newspapers to libraries and schools throughout Windham County, and beyond. Of course we do! Part of our mission is make sure that honest, award winning reporting is available to all, regardless of ability to pay.

Now you can help further our mission. Only $75 guarantees a library or school delivery of The Commons for a full year. Join our Sponsor-a-Library program today! Click here (and select “Sponsor a Library” when asked “Apply My Donation To.”)

Let’s talk advertising

We’d love to help you with your ads! Please let us know a little bit about your advertising and your needs, and one of our team will be in touch promptly. You can also call Jen at 802-246-6397 Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–3:30 p.m.

Regular ad features

Help Wanted

Real Estate

Nuts ’n’ Bolts (home improvement)

Public Notices (Legal Ads)

Front Page Box

Section Cover Strip Ads

CLOSE

More than a newspaper

The Commons is the public face of a larger nonprofit organization, Vermont Independent Media, Inc.

We came to life from the ground up in 2004, as members of the community became increasingly concerned about the consequences of absent corporate ownership of the daily newspaper in town and the need for local people to have access to the skills to create their own grassroots media.

VIM came to life lovingly and carefully thanks to indefatigable volunteers. The first public programs of the Media Mentoring Project began in 2005, and the first issue of The Commons was published in 2006. The newspaper was published monthly until 2010, when we began a weekly schedule. We are published on Wednesdays 51 times a year.

Our mission

Recognizing that a vigorous exchange of ideas and information allows democracy to function and is the lifeblood of a community, Vermont Independent Media:

• creates a forum for community participation,

• promotes local independent journalism,

• fosters civic engagement by building media skills

through publication of The Commons and commonsnews.org, and through the Media Mentoring Project.

Nonprofit IRS filings

By law, every 501(c)3 nonprofit organization must make its IRS filings available to the public. Here are ours.

Office hours

We attempt to keep our small newsroom open during the day on weekdays. But we are sometimes out covering the news, many of us are part-time, and we keep odd hours. We welcome your visit, but please make an appointment so you don't make a special trip.

Directions to the office

We're at 139 Main St., Brattleboro, Vermont (the Hooker-Dunham Building).

Search The Commons from 2010 to present

CALENDAR LISTINGS FOR Wednesday, June

6

The written word

BRATTLEBORO"The Known World and the Literary Character": Amherst College professor Judith Frank explores the unique approaches to characterization taken in Edward P. Jones' writing of his Pulitzer-winning novel and what they can tell us about slavery, personhood, and novel-reading. This is a Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays lecture series. 7 p.m. Free. Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main St. Information: 802-254-5290; Click for more info on Web in new window.

Ideas and education

Recreation

BRATTLEBOROScrabble: Everyone is welcome to stop by and play a game of Scrabble.
All levels. 6 p.m. on the Mezzanine (Wednesdays). Through Wednesday, June 27. Free. Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main St. Information: 802-254-5290; Click for more info on Web in new window.

Kids and families

BRATTLEBORORhyme Time: Stories and songs for children 5 and under. 10:30 a.m. on Wednesdays in the Meeting Room (April-Aug. and Oct.-Feb.). Free. Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main St. Information: 802-254-5290; Click for more info on Web in new window.

Well-being

BRATTLEBOROLunchtime Yoga for Co-op Shareholders: All-levels, led by a different local teacher each Wednesday. Bring a yoga mat. noon - 1 p.m. Free (only open to shareholders). Brattleboro Food Co-op Community Room, 7 Canal St. Information: 802-246-2821; Click to e-mail for more information.

BRATTLEBOROYoga with Dante: Relax and reinvigorate - the best of both worlds. Postures are accompanied by conscious breathing. Crystal bowl sound healing, meditation, some chanting. 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. Free; donations welcome. Gallery in the Woods, 145 Main St. Information: 802-257-4777.

BRATTLEBOROAlternatives to Suicide: This is a mutual support group open to anyone who has experienced thoughts of suicide. The group is guided by a charter of values provided by the Western Mass Recovery Learning Community. The group is non-clinical and does not link suicide with illness. Participants are free to talk about and find meaning in their experiences in/on their own terms. 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. every Wednesday. Free. The Hive, 24 Flat St., #202 (2nd fl., 2nd door to left). Information: ; Click to e-mail for more information.

Community building

BRATTLEBORO"400 Miles Down the Connecticut River" - Slide Presentation with Michael Tougias: Tougias will present slides from his 400-mile kayak journey down the Connecticut River, which he chronicled in the book "River Days: Exploring the Connecticut River from Source to Sea," and share stories of the river's rich history. He's written 29 books, including "Rescue of the Bounty: Disaster and Survival in Superstorm Sandy" and "There's a Porcupine in my Outhouse: Misadventures of a Mountain Man Wannabe." In 2016, his New York Times bestselling book, "The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard's Most Daring Sea Rescue," was adapted into a Disney film. "400 Miles Down the Connecticut River" is a Vermont Humanities Council program hosted by BMAC and presented in connection with The Confluence Project, an experiment in creative placemaking organized by Vermont Performance Lab and Windham Regional Commission. 6 p.m. - 7 p.m. Free. Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, 28 Vernon St. Information: 802-257-0124; Click for more info on Web in new window.

Dance

BRATTLEBOROPaneurythmy, the Dance of Universal Harmony: This uplifting, energizing circle dance taught by Beinsa Douno of Bulgaria is danced around the world. 8 a.m. Wednesdays and Sundays. Free. Living Memorial Park, Guilford St. Ext. Information: 802-490-2213.